Imperative to have tailor-made solutions targeting local villages: Jal Shakti official

It is imperative to have tailor-made solutions targeting the local villages and districts as the 'one-size-fits-all' strategy will not work for sanitation-related issues, a senior Jal Shakti Ministry official said on Friday.

Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, said the solutions must be unique and scalable and should be adopted by other villages which are in a similar situation.

"We need to understand that as India is a huge country, the issues are diverse. The solutions have to be tailored not only to the local geography and geology but also have to take into account the culture, practices and habits,"she said.

She stressed that the Lighthouse initiative will play an important role in this regard.

Addressing the launch of the 'Lighthouse' Workshop, organized by the FICCI-India Sanitation Coalition (ISC),  Mahajan noted that India is standing at the cusp of transformative change with a "huge opportunity for all of us to transform rural India".

"We are already working in this direction, and we believe in it for a very good reason," she added.

The Secretary further stated that India has been working on making the country open defecation-free along with other sanitation-related issues for decades.

"All of us working in this sector clearly understand that there are no full stops to these efforts, but it is an ongoing process," she said.

She added that the government has been working for around two years on SBM-G (Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin) Phase II, which has the target of sustaining the ODF status and ensuring that arrangements are in place for solid and liquid waste management in all the villages of the country.

The project, she said, is backed by adequate funds, knowledge, and the right set of partners.

"It is the gram panchayats, block panchayats and the zila panchayats who have to take the lead in not just understanding and planning for it but also to assist in creating the required assets which are economically viable and technologically feasible," Mahajan said.

She said the government has made available adequate funds through SBM-G and tied grants for water and sanitation projects. It is significant that more than 95,000 villages have declared themselves as ODF Plus, the secretary said. "It is now time to ensure that the efforts are grounded on a proper understanding of the situation and making it happen quickly".

Urging corporates to come forward to assist the sector, Mahajan highlighted that there are immense opportunities for the private sector.

"We are looking at quick deliverables and with very ambitious timelines. We are not looking at corporates for funding the assets, but we are seeking their energy, time, and commitment. With these, we can bring about transformative change," she added.